1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of packaging consumer goods with plastic tamper evident and freezer capable bands and labels. In particular, a plastic film having adhesively bonded seaming solutions on its overlapping edges to create a plastic sleeve and method of manufacture is disclosed. In exemplary embodiments, the edges of the plastic films are connected utilizing multiple seams and a tear away graspable flap is formed by excess film extending beyond the seams.
2. General Background
Sleeves of plastic films are created by folding a single web of plastic film into a tube and forming a seam at the overlapping edges of the plastic film. These sleeves are utilized to manufacture heat sealable bands and labels for packaging of consumer goods. Tamper evident bands and other heat shrunk labels are utilized in several different applications. For example, the bands may be utilized for packaging food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or other products.
The art of adhesively seaming heat shrinkable films to make bands, sleeves or labels is fairly well developed. The seams must meet certain manufacturing requirements as well as specific requirements of particular foods and containers. The bands must be manufactured with speed and efficiency, but also have the required strength, appearance, and reliability.
Many times the bands are heat sealed to the container to indicate the container and its contents have not been tampered with to a consumer. Thus, it is important to maintain a strong band that only breaks when a consumer wants to access the contents of the container.
Conventionally, the bands, labels, sleeves and other applications created by the plastic films can be perforated to allow the consumer to more easily break the seal by pealing away a perforation strip to obtain what is in the container. In many instances, the perforation strip is formed at a location on the band other than the seamed area and the seamed area is meant to remain intact. The band is meant to be broken only at these perforations.
Often the perforation will fail before reaching the consumer. For example, the perforation may be too deep or the holes may be close together due to manufacturing issues. Thus, the band may break during the heat shrinking process or due to stresses experienced during the shipping and handling of the product. Additionally, many food products are frozen. In frozen food applications, the band will freeze and the perforation has a greater likelihood of failing due to thermal stresses or changes in brittleness as the temperature varies.
Additionally, the perforation may be too tight, making it difficult for a consumer to break the seal. Sometimes the producer will not even use perforation because perforations fail, making opening the container more difficult. Thus, the consumer must use some sort of tool to open the band. This is especially difficult for consumers who are weak, or have arthritis or other medical conditions.